If you're used to working with Excel on Windows, one of the most confusing aspects of using Excel on a Mac is shortcuts. Even basic shortcuts you've been using for years in Windows may not work as you expect. After a few problems, you might wind up thinking that Mac shortcuts are 'totally different' or somehow 'broken'. In reality, Excel shortcuts on the Mac are quite capable, you just have to understand and adjust to certain differences. In this article, I'll walk you through the key differences you need to be aware of to work productively with Excel shortcuts on a Mac. Also see: // 3 minute video 1. Special symbols One of more confusing aspects of keyboard shortcuts on the Mac are the symbols you'll see for certain keys.

On our Mac we’re using the Remote Desktop (RDP) application, and on Windows the RealVNC Viewer. How to set up my mac book pro. In other words, Windows uses RDP natively while OS X uses VNC. These tools allow us to connect to the targets computer via each system’s native method.

From the Apple menu, click System Preferences > Keyboard > Shortcuts > App Shortcuts. Click the + sign to add a keyboard shortcut. In the Application menu, click the Office for Mac app (Microsoft Excel, Microsoft Word, Microsoft PowerPoint, Microsoft OneNote, Microsoft Outlook) you want to create keyboard a shortcut for. Excel Delete Row Shortcut The Excel delete row shortcut will delete the row below a highlighted cell. To delete this row, highlight a cell or entire row and press CTRL + - on your keyboard, literally pressing the minus sign after CTRL.

For example, the Command key is abbreviated as ⌘, the Control key with ⌃, and the option key as ⌥. These symbols have a long history on the Mac, and you'll find them in menus everywhere. The Mac Finder – abbreviations appear in all applications, not just Excel You'll see these symbols in menus across all applications, so they're not specific to Excel. There really aren't too many symbols, so I recommend that you bite the bullet and memorize them. The table below shows some example shortcuts with a translation. Parallels for mac sccm youtube. Command Shortcut Translation New workbook ⌘N Command N Save As ⌘⇧S Command Shift S Toggle ribbon ⌘⌥R Command Option R Paste Special ⌃⌘V Control Command V Select row ⇧Space Shift Space 2.

Function keys Like their counterparts in the Windows world, Mac keyboards have function keys. These keys sit at the top of the keyboard and are labeled F1 to F12 on standard keyboards and F13, F14 and higher on extended keyboards. Standard Mac keyboard with 12 function keys As you know, function keys are uses for many shortcuts in Excel. For example, you can use F1 for help, F7 for spelling, and shift + F3 to insert a function. But if you try these shortcuts directly on a Mac, they don't work. By default, Function keys on a Mac control the computer itself, things like screen brightness, volume, video pause and play, and so on. This means that if press only the function keys in Excel, you'll end up controlling the Mac, and not Excel. To make function keys work like you expect in Excel, you need to add a key: the function or fn key. You'll find the fn key in the lower left on your keyboard.

Here are a few examples: Command Windows Mac New chart F11 fn F11 Calculate worksheets F9 fn F9 Open Spelling F7 fn F7 Evaluate formula F9 fn F9 If you really hate using the fn key, you can change this behavior by changing a preference at System Preferences > Keyboard. Here you can check a box that will that will change function key behavior to work like 'standard function keys'. If you do this, however, note that you won't be able to use function keys for things like Brightness, Volume, etc. Unless you hold down the fn key. In essence, this setting reverses behavior so that you need to use fn to control the Mac. Personally, I like using the function keys to control the computer, so I leave this setting alone, and just the fn key when needed in Excel. Missing keys Another difference that may trip you up on a Mac is certain keys are missing.

Unless you're using an extended keyboard, keys like Home, End, backspace, Page up, and Page down are nowhere to be found. This is a problem, because many of these keys are used in Excel shortcuts. The solution is to use specific substitutions, as shown in the table below. Windows Mac equivalent Home fn arrow left End fn arrow right Page Up fn arrow up Page Down fn arrow down Screen right fn option arrow down Screen left fn option arrow up Move to Last cell fn control arrow right Move to first cell fn control arrow left Delete fn Delete Backspace Delete The substitutions let you perform the same actions you can do in Windows. However, T hey can make some shortcuts seem complicated on a Mac because you have to use more keys. Note: If you're using an extended keyboard on a Mac, you don't need to worry about substitutions, since you'll have keys for Home, End, Page up, etc.